Sacrifice and remembrance
Veterans Day has different meanings to all Americans. Unfortunately, most of our younger generation couldn’t even tell you what day it falls on. It’s thought by most of them as just a day off from school.
They’ve never been exposed to war as I was in the 1960s and ’70s.
Back then, the only thing that was on TV around dinner time was the news and there was always at least a five- to 10-minute section that was focused on Vietnam.
Today, a lot of households have multiple TVs with hundreds of channel selections. Who watches the news anymore? Sure we have the Internet now, but who stops and reads about Iraq and Afghanistan? We’re too busy checking e-mail, socializing through the different sites and mindlessly browsing the Internet.
As a retired veteran, I would like to thank all fellow veterans that did, and those that do, sacrifice more than most Americans will ever know. Many with their lives but also those that have given up a part of adult life away from family and friends, defending the freedom that way too many Americans take for granted. That’s what Veterans Day is for.
If for only one day of the year, we need to remember the men and women that have given so much.
Doug Carruthers
Spokane Valley